Naomi Klein on the Link Between Climate Change and Capitalism

Posted on Nov 19, 2012

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In an appearance on “Moyers & Company” over the weekend, Naomi Klein told Bill Moyers that the recent devastation left by Superstorm Sandy could be the catalyst for economic and political change in this country. The “Shock Doctrine” author has firsthand knowledge of the subject: She reported on the disaster in New York as part of a new book and documentary about climate change.

“One of the things about deregulated capitalism is that it is a crisis-creation machine. You take away all the rules and you are going to have serial crises. They may be economic crises, booms and busts. Or there will be ecological crises. You’re going to have both. You’re just going to have shock after shock after shock,” Klein said. “And the way we’re currently responding to it is that with each shock, we become more divided. And the more we understand that this is what the future looks like, the more those who can afford it protect themselves and buy their way out of having to depend on the public sector and therefore are less invested in these collective responses. And that’s why there has to be a whole other way of responding to this crisis.”